Frost River – Isle Royale bushcraft Backpack 730

Ok, Frost River with a history of about 250 years (“kind of”) of constructing packs does it quite likely as they did in the gold rush days. The backpack is constructed of heavy duty waxed 18oz canvas, leather from the sb foot tannery(this should ring the bell the famous Red Wing´s are made from leather from the same tannery) and rocksolid brass hardware.

My first thought when I received this backpack was “heavy” but not in a negative way. I rather carry 1 kg more of backpack with me than a piece of crap which gives me trouble be-cause its badly and lightweight constructed. (I lost a not properly attached waist belt buckle on a Lafuma backpack before I started a 10 days trip in Norway and a Vaude shoulderstrap buckle broke in the middle of Patagonia – one was about 60L and the other a 80L backpack – so no toys). I started to look for a bad construction or weak spots but could not find one, seams, material and hardware is bombproof. A Land Rover Defender has quite the same characteristics – loved for its proofed design and construction.

It took me probably about half a year to finally field-test the bag. It was packed with 20kg+ of camping equipment, food and drinks (Pernod and Redwine) and cloth. At the first 500m I had to move a hard piece of equipment because the backpack has no backplate construction. I rather packed the pack lazy 21th century not as I learned in the army. A bit later I had to adjust the shoulderstraps a bit and the rest of the 6 hour hike up to 2400m above sea level (1500m up the hill) went smoothly. The only little problem I had on the first day was the waist belt was too big for me since I only hiked with a Polo shirt, so i might punch another hole in the leather strap.

What I really liked about the backpack is it huge capacity to overload it. It is rated with about 45 Liter but due to the long straps I guess even about 60 Liters seem possible I would say. So it will be a perfect backpack for a quick overnight trip with lots of stuff packed in on a night on a bonfire or even a bigger hiking trip for up to 2 weeks. Albert mention a headstrap “Sherpa Style” for bigger trips – since the D-Rings are there to attach a device like this I will give it a try next time I carry a lot of weight in there.

What else can I tell you about the backpack, the images speak for themselves. Have a look of the nicely leather lined and very comfortable leather shoulder straps attached with 9 rivets!

Honestly I´m sure this backpack will outlast me and I do not see any reason to get rid of it. I will post my experience with this new friend over the years. Thanks again to AlbertDörp for making this great brand hassle free available to us. He works together with Frost River since 2006 and is the Distributer for them in Germany and most of Europe since 2008.

A direct link to the backpack he offers in his webshop @ Absolut Canoe is here:

Topodesigns Klettersack Navy/Leather

A special version of Topodesigns Klettersack with leather bottom and the lower sides. Very handy for placing the backpack on wet or rough ground.It keeps the rucksack dry and protects the Cordura (Not that 1000 Cordura needs too much protection, it´s already a tough material). The name Klettersack is earned by its functionality and solid construction. The weak spot of a Backpack is always the Zippers. As you can see Topo uses big and tough YKK ones. The lifetime of a Zipper defines the lifetime of your bag. They are hard to replace and if possible, it gets expensive. Avoid a backpack by all means with to small ones or those fancy watertight ones (they are crap).

The size of the backpack with 22 litres is just perfect for your daily use, a day in the mountains or other outdoor activities. With the straps and the additional ones available you will be able to increase the capacity to your needs. I got a serious faible for backpacks and I guess sooner or later my collection will be expanded by a Topo one. (and one with a broken/faulty zipper will get retired).

Swiss army backpack – salt and pepper – how to close it!

I never was too happy how I used to close this backpack – there is for sure some soldier proof instruction around. I´m heading for some serious barbecue and I thought again how to close it better. There are two d-rings / loops in the middle of the rucksack, just go with one of the sting in the upper and pull and the with the other string in the lower and pull. Go with the ends around the canvas and do a bow knot. Thats it, it is closed and fixed to the pack. Since the material is very strong and stiff other methods until now resulted in a too high profile of the back.

Swiss Army backpack from 1973, salt and pepper pattern:

First of all thanks a lot for the hint of Chris from Damn Yak, via his website in Canada I discovered this great vintage backpack from the Swiss Army. The toughness and the design is outstanding – I did not find one faulty attachment point or seam. Everything is done in a Swiss “perfectionistic” way. It was really designed for lasting a lifetime. Regarding that this rucksack sells for less than 40 Euros on Ebay I would say there is no backpack with a better value/style factor. The stamp on the pack says “L MAUERHOFER SELLERE GOLLION 73“. I would rate this backpack with a capacity of around 50 Liters and I´m sure without any problems It can handle easy 20 kg of stuff. Due to the canvas belt which acts as a suspender or a distance holder of the lower back it feels quite comfortable.

Seil Marschall – backpack – mini canoepack – ogange
Here some detail images of the small rucksack by Seil Marschall. The design and the creating of the backpack is really well thought of. Good strong seams, strong leather, thick canvas and to add the copper rivets. I also really like the “fast exit / opener” which you can see on pic 4. The backpack comes also in other and more decent colors, check the product page for more details. A rucksack to last a lifetime which makes the choosing of the color quite hard.